Timed automatic tuning device for radio receivers



March 11, 1941. g, M DAVENPQRT `2,234,668

.TIMED AUTOMATIC TUNING- DEVUE -FOR RADIO RECEIVERS ATTORNEY.

March 11, 1941. 1 M DAVENPORT 2,234,668

TIMED AUTOMATIC TUNING DEVICE FOR RADIO RECEIVERS Filed Jan. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY."

Patented Mar. 11,1941

UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE TIMED AUTOMATIC TUNING DEVICE FOB RADIO BECEIVERS 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a timed automatic tuning device for radio receivers in which there is provided means for automatically, at predetermined times, operc ating the electric automatic tuning mechanism of the radio receiver set and also means for determining, selectively, beforehand, the denite times of operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device which will be used in combination with a radio receiver having .an electric automatic tuning mechanism and provided with operating members which may be set for operating the tuning mechanism at predetermined times, automatically.

Another object of the invention is the provision, with a radio receiver having an automatic tuning mechanism, of a structure driven at a predetermined speed and provided with separable actuating members 'which may be set to operate the tuning mechanism at predetermined positions as the device is driven to these positions.

Another-object of the invention is the provi sion of a mechanism adapted for use with a radio receiver having an automatic tuning mechanism whereby it becomes possible for the operator to set a mechanismlin position for operating the tuning mechanism to tune selected stations in at selected times over a period of time.

'30 Another object-of the invention isA the Provision of a mechanism of this class in which the actuating device will automatically be moved to non-setting position after it has operated the tuning mechanism subsequentlyto having been set. r v

Another object oi the invention is the provision of a mechanism of this class which will be simple in structure, economical of manufacture, durable. compact, easily and quickly operated and highly efficient in use.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by a reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which,-

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a radio receiver showing theinvention applied.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of the invention slightly enlarged with parts broken away. v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary,.sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2i

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

(Cl. 20o-38) Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. l

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the invention in another position.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on line 1 1 of 5 Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of a modified form of the invention with parts broken away and parts shown in section.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken 10 on line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on line iii-I0 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 1'1 is a sectional view taken on line Il ll of Fig. 8. Y l5 Fig 12 is a sectional view taken on line |2-I2 of Fig. 11.

The invention is adapted for use on a radio receiving set and in the specification this structure will be referred to as a radio.

'Ihe invention is mounted on the front panel of the radio I8 and is intended to operate the automatic tuning mechanism which is constructed as a part of the radio. This automatic tuning mech anism forms of itself no part of the present in- 25 vention and is not shown in detail, only such parts of the same being illustrated as may be necessary for an understanding of the operation of the present invention.

Mounted on a suitable support 20 behind the 30 front panel 2| of the radio is an electric clock mechanism 22 adapted for rotating the shaft 23, this driving mechanism 22 being so timed as to eil'ect a rotation of the shaft 23 once in twelve hours. To operate the automatic tuning mech- 35 anism it is necessary to close a predetermined circuit in order that the radio receiver may be tuned to that station so that the radio is provided with one of these circuits for each station Athat it is adapted to automatically tune into. In o Fig. 3 I have shown the radio equipped to operate at a capacity of four stations and for each station there is provided an electric cable 24, each of these cables connecting to the insulation bus bar 2l by means of a rivet or bolt 26, the head of 45 which serves as a contact. Mounted in spaced relation to the member 25 is a metallic plate 21A which is connected to the side wire 28. Mounted at one end to the bar 21 and positioned opposite each of the contact rivets or bolts 2l, is a re- 60 silient contact member 29 which is formed substantially V-shaped as shown in Fig. 4 and the free end of which projects through a slot 3l formed in theplate or bar 21. 'I'he free end of this switch blade or contact member 29 is anguu larly turned as shown in Fig. 4 and normally is in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 out of engagement with the contact 26. When pressed into the full line position shown in Fig. 4, the

member 29 will contact the contact member 26 and close connection between the feed wire 23 and the individual cables 2d depending upon which of the switch blades has been pressed into circuit-closing position. As soon as one of these switch blades is pressed into the full line position shown in Fig. 4 so as to close the circuit, the tuning mechanism will be operated to tune the radio into the particular station selected.

Fixedly mounted on the shaft 23 so as to' rotate therewith are the discs 3l and 32, these discs making one complete revolution every twelve hours. ranged to begin on the quarter hour and the invention is constructed to accord with this arrangement. I have determined on the face of the disc 32 radii. These radii being .axially spaced to correspond to lthe fteen minute period and on each radius so determined, I have mounted a plurality of operating plungers. The innermost rows of plungers is used for a different purpose than the outerI rows of plungers, although the structural details are the same. The inner rows of plungers may be termed the radio control buttons or plungers and the outer rows may be termed the selective station plungers or buttons. Formed in the disc 32 are the openings 33 in which is slidably positioned the plunger head or cup-shaped member 36 which has a centrally extending lsleeve 35 projecting inwardly from its base and into which a reduced threaded end 3S of the stem 3l of insulation is threaded. This stem 3l slidably projects through an opening 3B formed in the disc 3i. Embracing this stem 37 and. entering at one end of the cupshaped head 3Q and engaging at its opposite end the face of the disc 3l, is a coiled spring 39. The stem 37 is provided on its inner end with a head lll and between the head l0 and the medial line of the stem this stem 3l! is cut away to provide a shoulder Bl. Mounted at one end on the disc 3l is a spring catch l2 having the angularly turned end l2 adapted to engage the periphery of the stem 3l. 'Secured to and projecting out- -of the four outer r wardly beyond this spring catch 32 is a releasing arm de. Mounted on the outer face of the bar 2l is a plate l5 having the outwardly directed V-shaped ilange d6. This ange lo is mounted on the plate 27 by means of a screw lll projected through the slot d@ so that the plate l5 may be adjusted relatively to the plate 2l within the limits of the slot 2d, the i'iange d6 being insulation.

The construction is such` that when the stem 31 is pressed inwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the angularly turned portion i3 of the catch 32 will engage behind the shoulder il and retain this stem in its in ardly thrust position. Each s is intended to operate the mechanism for tuning in a particular station. For instance, the plungers in the outer row, which may be' termed A, would serve to operate the automatic selective tuning mechanism fora particular station. 'I'he row B for another station, thdlrow C for another station and the row w lnother station. The individual buttons tnvthe row'A will determine at what time of tlfleday the station represented by that row shal be tuned in and this applies also to the 'othirows B, C, and D. Consequently, if it were The radio programs are generally ar-A 'aaaaces Y intended to have the tuning mechanism of a certain station operated for instance at one- 4thirty, the plunger in .the proper row on the radial line' corresponding to time of one-thirty would be pressed inwardly against the compression of the spring 39 and the angularly turned end 43 of the catch d2 would retain this plunger in its inwardly pressed position. As this plunger would arrive at the switch blade 29 controlling the circuit to the tuning mechanism for that particular station the head 2d would ride over the angularly turned end of the switch blade 29 and force it inwardly from the dotted line to the full line position as shown in Fig. 4 and close the circuit through the connecting cable 24. As this disc- 32 would continue to rotate, the head d0 would ride over the angularly turned end of the switch blade 29 and force it inwardly from the dotted line to the full line position as shown in Fig, 4 and close the circuit through the connecting cable 26. As the disc 32 would continue to rotate, the head 60 would ride on of the angularly turned end of the switch blade 29 so that the switch blade 29 would spring into the dotted line position shown in Fig. e. This, however, would not stop the operation of the radio and it would continue tuned into the station selected. As the disc 32 would continue to rotate, the arm iid would ride along -fthe inner face of the V- rshaped flange lo and the arm. lll would be pressed -so as to flex the catch member i2 backwardly and release the angularly turned portion d3 from engagement with the shoulder il whereupon the at predetermined times to operate the tuning de` vice for selecting predetermined stations.

It is obvious that once the device has lbeen operated the station selected will continue to be tuned in until another operation is accomplished.

In wsetting the device for a certain time, the operator, in addition to pressing in the desired plungers inl the four outer rows, would also press inwardly the plunger in thev inner row on the line indicating the time desired to have the radio go into operation and also press inwardly the plunger in the inner row on the radial line indicating the time at which it is desired that the radio should cease operating. When the plunger in the innermost row is pressed inwardly, it is held in its inwardly pressed position as already described.

Mounted on the supporting body 20 and projecting outwardly therefrom is a stud S on which is mounted a metallic band 50 having a plurality of axially directed arms 5I extending outwardly therefrom and outwardly oiset from the stud i9 as shown in Fig. 1l. An electric cable 52 i-s connected in contact with the band 50. Rotatably mounted on the end of the stud 119 is a cup-shaped hub 53 projecting outwardly -from which, in spaced relation, are the spokes 54. Mounted on the inner face of the hub 53, in spaced relation to correspond to the spacing of the arms 5|-, are contact plates 55 connected to the electric wire 56. Recesses 57 are formed on the inner face of the hub 53 between these contact plates 55. The construction is such that when the hub 53 ls turned into the position shown in Fig. 12 so that the contact plates 55 engage 'the arms 5I, the circuit to the radio would be closed. When the hub 53 is rotated so that the arms 5| are outof engagement with the plates 55, the circuit to the radio would be open and thearrns 5I would then rest in the recesses 51. These arms 5I are resilient and a snap action is thus provided. This structure serves as the switch for turning the radio on and turning it oi. As the disc 32 rotates, theplunger in the innermost row which has been pressed inwardly will engage one ofthe spokes 54 and rock or rotate the hub 53 to close the circuit to the radio and turn it on. As the disc 32 continues to -rotate after the radio has been turned on by a rotating of the hub 53, Ithe outwardly extending arm 44 on the plunger in the innermost row will engage the V-shaped flange 46 and the plungg() er will be released to move to inoperative position so that it will not continue to rotate the hub 53. The succeeding plunger in the innermost row, which has been pressed inwardly, will serve to rotate the hub 53 to turn the radio off g5 so that it thus becomes possible to set the mechanism to automatically turn the radio on and ofi at predetermined times, Consequently, when the lprogram which has been automatically turned on has nished, the radio will be automatically turned off also.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a slightly modied form of construction which is particularly adaptable for use on radios of height such as the cabinet type. Mounted on the face of the radio is a frame embodying the side rails or tracks 60'and 6I, one part of which forms a track structure the rema'inderbf which forms the front plates 62 and 63, respectively.l Positioned between these tracks 60 and 6l is a plate 64 having the out- 40 wardly projecting brackets 65 at opposite edges thereof, each carrying a roller 66 engaging in a groove 61 formed on the inner face of the trackV members 60 and 6l. Mounted on lthis board or plate 64, in a vertical row, is a plurality of plungers 1' each carrying a head or cap 34' and each in alignment with a switch blade 29'. The function and operation of these plungers 31', cooperating with the switch blades 29', is the same as the corresponding parts described and shown in the form illustrated in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. The Y plate or board 64 moves vertically, the operation of which will be presently described. On the opposite side of the plate onboard 64 is a. vertical row of plungers 31 corresponding to the plungers .31 on the innermost row in the construction shown in Fig. 2. Each of these plungers carries on its outer end a head 34" and is adapted to operate the control switch through engagement with the spokes 54.

Formed in the board or plate 64 is an elongated, vertical extending slot 68 along the mar- `gins of which are graduations corresponding to the hour sections. Rotatably mounted on brackets 69 projecting inwardly from the board 64 is a shaft 10 carrying a drum 1t on the face of which is deposited a plurality of circumferentially spaced rows of vspaced numbers corresponding to the hours. In Fig. 8 these hours extend 'from one to seven, By rotating the knurled wheel 70 12 which is fixedly mounted on the shaft, the

drum ll'may be rotated to bring into registration with the slot 68 a different sequence of numbers. On the member 63 is displayed an indicator such as the arrow 13.

Secured to and depending from the plate 64 is a rack bar 14 adapted to mesh with the pinion 15 which is mounted on the shaft 16 in avial slidable relation thereto but so as to rotate therewith. This shaft 16 projects outwardly from the clock mechanism' 11 which serves as a governor. A' spring 18 embraces the shaft 16 and presses at one end against the face of the clock mechalnism 11 and at the opposite end against the pinion 15 to normally maintain this pinion 15 thrust outwardly into position for meshing with the rack bar 14, an outwardly projecting pin 19 limiting the: outward movement of this pinion 15. Projecting outwardly from the outer face of the pinion is a head which is slidable on the shaft 1 6. By pressing inwardly on the head 80, the pinion may be moved inwardly against the compression of the spring 18 out of mesh with the ,rack bar 1.4. When this is done the board or plate 64 may be elevated to the desired position. Forl instance, if it should be two oclock at the time the mechanism is set, the board 64 would be elevated until the arrow 13 registered with the hour two indicated on the board or plate 64. The inward pressure on the pinion 15 would then be released so that this pinion would then mesh with the rack bar 14 and the clock mechanism 11 would permit the board or plate 64 downwardly in response to gravity at such a rate that the space between the various numbers would be traversed in the times indicated. As the plate travels downwardly and the plungers 31', which may have been pressed inwardly, ride over the aligning switch 29', the circuit actuating the tuning mechanism for tuning in that particular station would be closed, the switch blade 29' contacting a contact 26' connected to the cable 24' and mounted on the bar 25. The plungers 21 pressed inwardly would operate the control switch by engaging one of the spokes 54' and rotating the hub 53', the operation being the same as already described. This type of structure is adapted for accomplishing the results attained by the use of the preferred form of structure. It may, however, be adjusted manually as to time and the hours of operation are, of course limited.' The various rows will, of course, be indicated as to the stations to which they are related and it is believed obvious that when desired the mechanism may be operated manually ln the customary manner.

As shown in Fig. 7 the bar 25 is mounted with a bolt 99 projected through the slot 91 so that this bar may be positioned for effecting proper alignment.

It is believed that with the structure illustrated, I have provided a simple and effective means vfor attaining the results mentioned and that a compact, durable structure is thus provided.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred forms of constructions, I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details of the structures illustrated, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. A device of the class described adapted for use with a radio receiver having an electric automatic tuning mechanism and provided with switch closing members for operating the same, a movable supporting body movable at a predetermined rate of speed; a second supporting body movable in unison with and spaced from said first mentioned supporting body; a plurality of plungers projecting through said bodies and movable inwardly to operative position and outwardly to inoperative position; a spring for normally retaining said plunger moved outwardly to inoperative position; a shoulder on each of said plungers; spring members carried on said second mentioned supporting body and engageable behind a shoulder of a plunger upon inward movemenrt of the same for retaining the same in operative position; a stationary body; a stop on said body; and means projecting outwardly from said second mentioned supporting body engageable with said stop, upon movement of said supporting body to a predetermined position with a plunger in operative position; for releasing said plunger for movement to inoperative position.

2. A device of the class described adapted for use with a radio receiver having an electric automatic tuning mechanism and provided with switch closing members for operating the same, a movable supporting body movable at a predetermined rate of speed; a second supporting body movable in unison with and spaced from lsaid rst mentioned supporting body; a plurality of plungers projecting through said bodies and mov stationary body; a stop on said body; and means projecting outwardly from said second mentioned supporting body engageable with said stop, upon movement of said supporting body to a predetermined position with a plunger in operative position, for releasing said plunger for movement to inoperative position; a control switch; and means connected with said control switch engageable with said outwardly projecting releasing means for operating said control switch periodically upon the movement of said supporting bodies to predetermined positions,

3. A device ot the class described, adapted for use in a radio receiver, having an electric automatic tuning mechanism and provided withV switch-closing members for operating the same; a movable supporting body, movable at a predetermined rate of speed; a second supporting body spaced from said irst mentioned supporting body and movable in unison therewith; a plurality of plungers carried by and projecting through said supporting members and movable inwardly to operative position and outwardly to inoperative position; releasable means engaging each of said plungers upon its movement inwardly to operative position for retaining the same in operative position; a plurality of switches, each of said plungers upon movement of said supporting members to predetermined positions, engaging a switch and moving the same to closed'position; a control switch, embodying a rotatable operating mechanism adapted upon rotation to a predetermined position for closing the switch and rotation to another predetermined position for opening the switch; a plurality of spaced arms projecting outwardly from said rotatable mechanism and engageable with an operative'plunger, the plunger engaged therewith, effecting a rotation of said rotatable mechanism upon movement on said supporting members.

JAMES M. DAVENPORT. 

